Tourists planning trips to and from India in the peak 2026 holiday season look set for a markedly upgraded experience as Air India prepares to roll out next generation cabins and a thicker summer schedule on key long haul routes. The Tata Group owned carrier, which is midway through a multibillion dollar transformation, has begun detailing how newly retrofitted widebody aircraft, fresh cabin products and additional frequencies will shape its northern summer 2026 offering across Europe, North America, Australia and Asia.
Summer 2026: More Seats, More Frequencies on High Demand Routes
Air India is positioning summer 2026 as a turning point in its international push, with a series of capacity increases timed to coincide with the busy northern hemisphere holiday period. Industry filings and recent announcements indicate that the carrier will add or upgauge services on several trunk routes, while restoring flying curtailed during its 2025 operational safety pause.
From July 2026, Mumbai to London Heathrow will be operated primarily with Boeing 787-9 and retrofitted 787-8 aircraft in place of the older 777-300ER jets that have long dominated the route. The switch brings more modern cabins and improved fuel efficiency, while preserving overall capacity on one of Air India’s marquee links to Europe.
On the Delhi to Melbourne corridor, Air India is planning a notable step up in its premium offering. The airline will deploy upgraded 777-300ER aircraft configured with a dedicated First Class cabin, 40 business class flatbeds and a refreshed economy cabin. The change is expected to add close to 4,000 additional seats a month and is designed to capture both growing leisure traffic and high yielding corporate demand between India and Australia.
Additional enhancements are scheduled from August 2026. Bengaluru to London Heathrow flights will transition to retrofitted 787-8 aircraft, bringing a three cabin layout that, for the first time on this route, includes Premium Economy. Delhi to Toronto, meanwhile, will see the new 787-9 product on the majority of its ten weekly services, giving Canada bound passengers better choice across all cabins as summer demand peaks.
Next Generation Cabins: From A350 Flagships to Retrofitted 787s
The summer 2026 schedule is underpinned by a fleet modernisation strategy that is now starting to materialise in the cabin. Air India has already been introducing its A350-900 and A350-1000 aircraft with completely new interiors on flagship long haul routes, showcasing the airline’s latest business class suites, expanded Premium Economy cabins and upgraded in flight entertainment and connectivity.
Parallel to new deliveries, a comprehensive retrofit of legacy Boeing 787-8 and 777-300ER aircraft is underway. The programme for the 26 older 787s includes new seats, redesigned galleys and lavatories, refreshed mood lighting and the airline’s updated livery. The first two refitted Dreamliners are expected to return to service in the coming weeks, in time to be progressively rostered across longer haul routes ahead of the 2026 summer peak.
On the narrowbody side, Air India has already begun rolling out three class interiors on its A320neo fleet, introducing a dedicated Premium Economy cabin on domestic and short haul international routes. The design, developed with Collins Aerospace, incorporates ergonomic contouring, additional legroom, USB charging points and personal electronic device holders across all cabins. By mid decade, the airline expects a large part of its domestic network to feature the new product, offering a more consistent experience for passengers connecting to and from its upgraded long haul services.
These cabin changes are not just cosmetic. For Air India, which has historically lagged Gulf and Asian rivals in hard product, the arrival of lie flat business class seats across most of its widebody fleet and a significantly enhanced Premium Economy is central to its ambition of repositioning as a serious full service competitor on routes linking India with Europe, North America and Australasia.
Premium Push: First Class Returns and Wider Premium Economy Footprint
One of the most visible aspects of Air India’s summer 2026 plans is the renewed emphasis on the very top and mid tier of the cabin hierarchy. After gradually reducing First Class in past years, the airline is reintroducing and expanding the product on select high profile routes, using its densest 777-300ER configuration.
From mid 2026, First Class suites are set to appear not only on the Delhi to Melbourne service, but also on an expanded set of UK routes. Flights between Amritsar and Birmingham, Delhi and Birmingham, and services to London Gatwick from Ahmedabad and Amritsar are slated to shift to 777-300ER aircraft fitted with eight First Class suites alongside a large business cabin. The move will give outbound Indian travellers, diaspora communities and inbound tourists a wider choice of premium seating, particularly during peak religious and holiday travel windows.
Premium Economy, which the airline has been rolling out steadily since 2024, will also gain ground. By 2025 Air India had already installed Premium Economy on more than eighty aircraft, including widebodies and retrofitted A320 family jets. With retrofitted 787-8s being deployed on routes like Bengaluru to London Heathrow and upgraded 787-9s operating Delhi to Toronto and other long haul services, the number of city pairs offering the intermediate cabin is set to expand further by summer 2026.
For tourists, Premium Economy remains a key battleground. The cabin promises extra legroom, enhanced catering, priority ground services and quieter, smaller cabins at a price point significantly below business class. As India’s outbound travel market matures and more passengers look to trade up from standard economy on long sectors, Air India is seeking to capture demand that might otherwise flow to European, Gulf or East Asian carriers.
Onboard Experience: Design, Dining and Digital Upgrades
Cabin hardware is being matched by a broader refresh of the onboard experience that travellers can expect to see fully embedded by the 2026 summer season. Air India has already unveiled new soft products on international services, including redesigned bed linens, blankets and amenity kits featuring the airline’s updated branding and Indian design motifs.
First and business class passengers are being offered wool blend blankets, part of a push to introduce more tactile, premium materials across the premium cabins. In all classes, new blankets and soft furnishings in a twill weave and updated colour palette are intended to create a more cohesive visual identity that aligns with the Vista window frame motif rolled out across marketing and ground touchpoints.
The dining experience is also being recalibrated. New tableware, glassware and cutlery have been designed specifically for Air India, with mandala inspired patterns and India themed detailing. In First Class, the airline is deploying copper gold thali sets for Indian meals, while business class travellers are being served with lighter but more refined china and lead free glassware imported from Europe. Premium Economy features upgraded melamine tableware with etched motifs, while economy service is being simplified but modernised to speed up delivery and reduce waste.
Digital enhancements are progressing in parallel. Newer aircraft such as the A350 and incoming 787-9s offer upgraded inflight entertainment systems with larger screens, an expanded content library and improved connectivity options. Wi Fi is gradually being introduced or enhanced on more of the widebody fleet, a feature that has become a near expectation for many international travellers. Mood lighting sequences tailored to different phases of flight, from boarding to meal service and sleep periods, are designed to reduce jet lag and create a calmer ambience on long sectors.
Network Strategy: Consolidating Europe and North America After a Turbulent 2025
Behind the visible product enhancements lies a more cautious recalibration of Air India’s long haul network after a challenging 2025. The airline’s so called safety pause in mid 2025, following a serious incident involving a 787, forced temporary reductions across parts of its North American and European schedule while additional inspections were carried out and airspace closures in Pakistan and the Middle East extended flight times.
By late 2025 Air India had restored many of those frequencies and laid out plans to return to and then exceed pre pause capacity levels from 2026 onwards. The summer 2026 schedule, therefore, is not simply about growth, but about redeploying capacity with upgraded aircraft on routes where the airline believes it has a competitive advantage, particularly nonstop links between Indian metros and key diaspora hubs in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and the United States.
Industry analysts note that Air India’s approach contrasts with some North American carriers that are trimming parts of their transatlantic schedules for summer 2026 despite robust demand. With India’s international traffic still on an upward trajectory and a large order book of widebody aircraft in the pipeline, Air India is taking the opportunity to cement its position on core routes while cautiously testing new city pairs as aircraft and crew availability improve.
The carrier’s investment in new and retrofitted aircraft is also intended to deliver unit cost savings through better fuel burn and more efficient layouts, allowing it to sustain year round services on routes that were previously heavily seasonal or operated with significant payload restrictions during peak periods.
Airport Developments and Connectivity: Supporting the New Capacity
Air India’s summer 2026 ambitions are unfolding against a backdrop of rapid airport expansion within India, which is expected to support higher volumes of inbound and outbound tourists. New infrastructure at major hubs such as Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, along with emerging gateways like Navi Mumbai and Noida International (Jewar), will progressively ease capacity constraints that historically limited growth in peak seasons.
The planned opening of Navi Mumbai International Airport as the Mumbai region’s second commercial hub is particularly relevant. While initial operations will be dominated by domestic services and low cost carriers, Air India and its low cost affiliate Air India Express have signalled interest in building a presence there over time. By the mid 2020s, the combined capacity of Mumbai’s two airports is projected to more than double, giving full service airlines more options to schedule additional flights and bank connections without the slot pressures that currently define peak hours at the existing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
At Delhi, work on terminal and airside upgrades continues, supporting Air India’s aspiration to develop the capital into a true long haul hub connecting Europe and North America with South and Southeast Asia as well as Australasia. Additional gates capable of handling widebody aircraft, improved baggage systems and expanded immigration and security facilities aim to reduce connection times and make transfers during the busy summer months less onerous for international tourists.
For travellers, the combination of improved airport facilities and more thoughtfully timed schedules should translate into shorter layovers, more reliable connections and a wider range of departure and arrival times, particularly on routes where Air India is moving to multiple daily frequencies with its newer aircraft types.
What Summer 2026 Means for Tourists Booking Now
With many global carriers already loading their northern summer 2026 timetables into reservation systems, Air India’s latest moves will be closely watched by both travel agents and individual travellers planning complex itineraries. The appearance of the airline’s new cabins on search engines and booking platforms typically begins months before launch as retrofitted aircraft are assigned to specific flights.
For long haul tourists, the most tangible change will be the increased availability of contemporary business class seats offering direct aisle access, larger Premium Economy cabins at more accessible price points, and refreshed economy cabins with improved seating and entertainment. On routes such as Delhi to Melbourne or Mumbai and Bengaluru to London Heathrow, passengers will have a clearer choice between fully updated Air India aircraft and competitor offerings operated by European, Gulf and Asia Pacific airlines.
Price dynamics remain uncertain this far ahead, but industry observers expect competition to intensify on key India Europe and India Australia corridors as capacity grows. Tourists prepared to book early and remain flexible on dates may be able to secure upgraded cabins at only a modest premium over older products, particularly in the shoulder weeks at the start and end of the summer season.
For Air India, the 2026 summer period will serve as an important test of whether its investment in hardware, service and schedule density can translate into sustained preference among international travellers. For tourists, it promises a season in which flying to and from India could feel markedly different from just a few years ago, with cabins, connectivity and service levels more closely aligned with global full service standards.